Summary

Setup up an api endpoint to take a websites url (eg: https://someapp.com/catalog/app/lists) and returns an shortened URL such as https://someapp.com/GeAi9P.

Pre-requisites

1. python 3.11.6

Starting The Service

1. Clone repo

   git clone https://github.com/smetroid/URLShortening.git

2. Change into URLShortening

   cd URLShortening

3. Create the virtual environment

   python -m venv .venv

4. Source the virtual env

   source .venv/bin/activate

5. Install python packages

   pip install -r requirements.txt

6. Start the flask app

   waitress-serve 'shorturl:shorturl'

Usage

1. Shortening a url using curl

   curl --header "Content-Type: application/json" -X POST localhost:8080/encode --data '{"url": "https://www.yahoo.com/news/dog-adopted-7-years-pennsylvania-210548824.html"}'
   

   Result:

   {"id":"4LoFSC","short_url":"https://www.yahoo.com/4LoFSC"}
   

2. Retrieving original URL using the id above

   curl --header "Content-Type: application/json" -X POST localhost:5000/decode --data '{"id": "rcj3GA"}'
   

   Result:

   {"id":"4LoFSC","original_url":"https://www.yahoo.com/news/dog-adopted-7-years-pennsylvania-210548824.html"}
   

Running Development Environment

1. Export the apps

   export FLASK_APP=shorturl.py

2. Start development server

   flask run

3. Running tests

   pytest

VSCode Debug HowTo

I've included my .vscode/settings which includes a launch.json file which you can use to run the VSCode debugger. It may need to be updated based on your Operating System.